London -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A British man suffering from `` locked-in syndrome '' who fought a long legal battle over assisted suicide died Wednesday , his family said .

Tony Nicklinson , 58 , had been refusing food since last week , contracted pneumonia over the weekend , and `` went downhill rapidly , '' said his lawyer , Saimo Chahal .

`` Before he died , he asked us to tweet : ` Goodbye world the time has come , I had some fun , ' '' his Twitter account said .

The former rugby player was left paralyzed from the neck down by a catastrophic stroke seven years ago , and lost a High Court battle last week to gain a legal right to end his life when he chose .

The fight seemed to go out of him after the court 's decision , leaving him `` heartbroken , '' Chahal said after his death was announced .

His wife , sister and daughters were with him when he died , she said .

`` He was gutsy , determined and a fighter to the end , '' said Chahal , adding it had been `` an absolute privilege '' to represent him .

His legal case will not continue unless someone `` in similar circumstances '' steps forward to pursue it , she said .

Police in the county of Wiltshire , where he lived , said that a doctor had been seeing Nicklinson over the past week , and that they were not investigating the death .

His condition meant it was impossible for him to take his own life , and he wanted the legal right to have a doctor take his life without fear of prosecution .

`` Most of my body is paralyzed , but my mind is as it was before the stroke . All I can move is my head , and the stroke took away my power of speech . Now I talk to people with a perspex spelling board or a computer operated by my eye blinks , '' he told CNN in an interview in June .

While expressing sympathy for his situation , the High Court ruled August 16 that such a significant change to the law -- involving overturning the ban on voluntary euthanasia -- would have to be decided by lawmakers .

The judges also rejected a similar challenge to the law brought by a second man suffering from locked-in syndrome , named only as Martin .

Psychiatrist : I hate suicide but also understand it

`` The cases raise profoundly difficult ethical , social and legal issues , but -LRB- the court -RRB- judged that any change to the law must be a matter for Parliament to decide , '' a statement from the court said .

The ruling upset Nicklinson , who cried as his wife , Jane , told the waiting media that the family was `` bitterly disappointed '' and would file an appeal .

`` All too often , well-meaning able-bodied people just assume that if a person is so severely disabled that he needs assistance to commit suicide , he must automatically be unable to deal with such choice , '' he said in June .

`` I say that where a person has the mental ability , he should have the choice of his own life or death . The only difference between you and me is my inability to take my own life , '' he said .

In a statement given via his computer last week after the decision , Nicklinson said : `` It 's not the result I was hoping for but it is n't entirely unexpected . Judges , like politicians , are happiest when they can avoid confronting the real issues and this judgment is not an exception to the rule .

`` I believe the legal team acting on my behalf is prepared to go all the way with this , but unfortunately for me it means yet another period of physical discomfort , misery and mental anguish while we find out who controls my life -- me or the state . ''

His daughters , tweeting on his behalf , urged people to sign a petition via his Twitter account supporting his `` right to die with dignity . '' Within hours , thousands of people had added their names .

Jane Nicklinson said the family did not intend to go to Switzerland , which has an assisted suicide law , because it was expensive and her husband did not think he should have to go overseas to die .

Before his stroke at age 51 , the couple lived a comfortable life in the United Arab Emirates and traveled extensively .

Speaking to CNN in June , Jane Nicklinson described her husband before the stroke as a man who was the `` life and soul of the party , '' making his current severely restricted existence even harder to bear .

`` He was a big bloke , ex-rugby player , he worked hard but he played hard , '' she said . `` He was full of life , great sense of humor , loved the sound of his own voice . ''

CNN 's Laura Smith-Spark , Sarah Chiplin , Jo Shelley , Atika Shubert , Alex Felton , Nima Elbagir , Erin McLaughlin and Dominique Van Heerden contributed to this report .

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NEW : `` The fight went out of '' Tony Nicklinson after he lost a court case over the right to die

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`` Goodbye world the time has come , I had some fun , '' he says before his death

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Nicklinson , 58 , fought for assisted suicide after a stroke paralyzed him

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The court was sympathetic , but said such a major legal change should n't come from judges